[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 64 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E754-E755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FISCAL YEAR 1996 BUDGET

                                 ______


                        HON. PETER G. TORKILDSEN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 1996

  Mr. TORKILDSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the final piece 
of the fiscal year 1996 budget--the first downpayment on a 7-year 
balanced budget. This conference report is the product of months of 
negotiations and many compromises. It cuts discretionary spending by 
$23 billion and sets the stage for the balanced budget this Congress 
promised to deliver.
  A major victory in this package is language I sponsored to repeal the 
discriminatory ban on HIV-positive military personnel. The so-called 
HIV-discharge law was inserted into the fiscal year 1996 Defense 
authorization bill over the objections of the Pentagon, veterans 
groups, and many distinguished Members of the House and Senate. With 
the repeal of this provision in the conference support, I urge all my 
colleagues to cast a vote for simple fairness, commonsense, and all men 
and woman who serve our country with honor and distinction.
  In addition, this budget plan restores over $2 billion in Federal 
education funding. The original House-passed spending bill contained 
deep cuts in title I, School-to-Work, Goals 2000, and other key 
programs. The conference report restores much of the education funding 
needed to maintain a commitment to America's children and I urge my 
colleagues

[[Page E755]]

to remember that a vote for this bill is a vote for educational 
opportunity.
  Finally, due to extensive good-faith negotiations, this bill is a win 
for our environment. It does more to protect endangered species than 
the original House version, and eliminates a provision allowing oil 
drilling at the Tongas National Forest--the world's largest temperate 
rainforest. And under the final compromise, the National Park Service 
retains management authority of the Mojave Desert National Preserve--as 
outlined in the California Desert Protection Act Congress passed in 
1994.
  Overall, Mr. Speaker, this budget package is the right thing to do 
for our children and grandchildren who deserve our best efforts to give 
them a deficit-free future. This plan is the first concrete step in 
honoring this commitment and I urge all Members of the House to support 
final passage.

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